86-year-old dies 21 hours after seeking back pain treatment; Caboolture hospital review flags multiple care failures
Family says death was unexpected as health service's own review lists missed opportunities
Leo Barraclough, 86, walked into the emergency department at Caboolture Hospital one afternoon in June 2024 complaining of severe back pain. Twenty-one hours later he was dead, and a confidential internal review has since identified a series of failures in his care, including critical delays in assessment, monitoring and treatment. His family is demanding answers about why the hospital recorded the death as 'not unexpected' and initially did not refer it to the coroner.